Cam Johnson thought he should have kept the ball when Phoenix tried to overtime against Utah last week.
So it seemed fitting that the ball was in his hands to deliver the biggest shot of his NBA career.
Johnson scored a career-high 38 points with his last 3 connecting glasses on the buzzer to deliver a 115-114 return stunner to the Sons before a sellout crowd of 17,071 at Footprint Center, who later lost his mind in the excitement.
Scoring 21 of his 38 in the fourth, Johnson nearly equaled his previous career-high 24 in the final quarter. His career-high nine 3s set a franchise record.
Here are five takeaways from Friday's thriller that took an emotional turn when Johnson and Julius Randall made 10 points late with New York in third place.
After video review, Randall was ejected with 2:40 in the quarter after two technicals as he finished with a team-high 25 points for the Knicks (25–38).
Johnson picked up a technical but remained in the game and led the Suns (51–12) to victory in a 72-game season matching the number of wins they had won in all previous seasons.
1. Johnson's rift with Randall began long before his feud in the third.
Johnson returned in their first November matchup in New York and talked about Randall giving him a shot at a box out.
No wrong calls.
So when Randall dismissed the wind in the rib area from the Randall blow on Friday night, Johnson said it "felt cheap" and "really hurt."
Again no wrong calls.
After catching his breath, the normally level-headed Johnson was furious and began to play with an inner rage.
So when he and Randall came into the third quarter, Johnson was already there and wasn't going to back down this time.
Absolutely not.
As Johnson put it, as a man, he had to stand up for himself.
And his teammates fed the energy that fueled the comeback thriller.
2. Now let's separate the actual dust.
Randall plays rough and physical. Bully ball if you will.
So he gets into the paint, throwing up his body, and elbows in, hitting Johnson from his spot to grab an offensive rebound.
In response, Johnson jolted Randall in the back.
In response, Randall got in his face and proceeded to push Johnson with his left hand after the two exchanged a few words.
All this happened in front of the Sunas Bench.
Bismac Biombo eventually came between the two, shooing Randall out of the way and then headed that way before Sun Security stopped him.
The fans booed. Very fast Then there was a high volume of delight when Randall was pulled out after the video review.
The Knicks were up, 86–76, with 2:40 left in the third, but Suns coach Monty Williams said he told his Suns they were going to win the game.
He did, but moved to fourth, 93-81.
Then Johnson went solar.
As dramatic as that ending was, if Alec Burks had made both free throws to top the Knicks three, the best that could have happened for the Suns was overtime.
Burke left the door open for Johnson to make a 31-footer on Horn, with the crowd going.
For fans who are gone, there's always YouTube, but watching it live can't match.
3. Just a week earlier, the Phoenix did not handle a late game situation that ended with a four-point loss to the Jazz.
Williams didn't get a timeout. Jay Crowder turns the ball in search of Booker.
Both Crowder and Booker felt they could have called a timeout.
And Johnson was upset with himself for not pushing the ball to the floor, even though he was dribbling in a jazz trap before kicking Crowder backwards.
This time, the Sons did not have a timeout, but a play was set up if Burks made or missed the second free throw with 7.1 seconds.
Burks missed the second.
After trailing 14, Phoenix found himself only down two.
Then the following happened.
Bridges dug out the rebound and put it back in the foot.
That was by design.
Then Payne pushed the ball. Over time, Payne was quick, but in no hurry.
Seeing Johnson pass by him, Payne thought, Well, let's give Johnson another shot.
Clearly a good call as he said the previous play was for Johnson, but he went on to score instead and missed a lay-up with Sun Down with 7.9 seconds remaining.
Payne was just 6-of-16 off the field, made four turnovers, but had been finding people all night posting career-high 16 assists.
His last one came on finding the warmest hand in the building.
Wanting to go down higher after seeing his previous misses recede, Johnson put so much on him, the shot got stuck in the basket.
Shooting 11-of-16 from the field, 9-of-12 on 3-s, Johnson said it felt good upon release, but admitted he didn't call the bank.
The sun will take
4. After Wednesday's win over Portland, Payne went into that game wondering how he was going to submit to the FGAs Booker and Paul.
Booker averages 20.8 attempts while Paul averages 11.5.
In terms of scoring, Booker averages 25.6 points, Paul's 14.9.
So that brings 32.3 tries and 40.5 points to the All-Star backcourt table.
Johnson scored 38 runs.
Add to Mikal Bridges' 20 on 11 FGAs, Payne's 17 at 16 FGA and Crowder's 14 on 12 FG, the Sons had plenty of people filling the shooting and scoring void.
Crowder was 2-of-7 out of 3, but hit both 3s in the return in the fourth quarter.
Deandre Ayton was not one of those who made a huge difference.
He scored just eight points on 4-of-10 shooting and only got three rebounds.
three. The sun was out, 49-33.
Mitchell Robinson dismissed him for 17 points and 15 rebounds, with nine coming on the offensive glass.
Barring Payne's late layoff effort, Robinson would have been the hero, Johnson would have missed that 3 on the buzzer.
Ayten hasn't been a force on the glass since the All-Star break. He's not even close to making a difference across the board. The Suns could go on without scoring big every night, but rebounding ruined them in the final.
It will happen again in the postseason if Ayton doesn't return to the double-digit rebounder that has been his NBA career.
5. Lastly, the Sons have a huge three-game road trip to Milwaukee on Sunday, but they are likely to be without Booker for the start.
He will not travel to Wisconsin if it is still in protocol. If he is cleared during the trip, don't be surprised if Booker makes his way to Florida as Phoenix concludes the trip with a road trip against Orlando on Tuesday and Miami on Wednesday.
Williams said Booker is looking forward to coming back, but it may be good for him to stay home and rest. The Suns have a 7-1/2 game lead over the Warriors in the West.
It's a big enough cushion for them to go without Booker, even if they go 1-2 on a road trip.
Phoenix's first game is against Toronto on March 11, followed by the Lakers on March 13. The Suns could have Booker return for one of those two games.
The Sons keep saying that they have a chance to grow without Booker and Paul. They can continue to take courses that one might call "how to play when the teams kick Booker and Paul out."
This happened in the playoffs last year. It will happen again this year.